 |
| Aroostook Republican Photo/Theron Larkins Emmalee poses with her mother Kelly and Head Start teacher, Tammy Cyr, or “Miss Tammy,” as she is known by the children and their parents. After entering the Head Start program, two years ago, it was confirmed that Emmalee would need hearing aids, due to a hearing-impairment she was born with. She now wears a pair of pink hearing aids to help her as she prepares for her future education. |
By Theron Larkins
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — For many local youths there was a single place where they were first introduced to education. Aroostook County Action Program’s (ACAP) Head Start is a program that has been helping prepare pre-school children, whose parents may not be able to afford private pre-schooling to get a “head start” on their education.
For one young girl, her experience in the Head Start program has changed her life forever and certainly for the better. Emmalee Carney has been in Head Start for two years now and has made tremendous progress in her pre-schooling preparation. What separates Emmalee from her classmates is something that perplexed her mother and grandmother for years before they were finally able to conclusively understand what was going on. Emmalee was born with a hearing-disability that prevented her from hearing even the most deafening noises, such as a car horn or the piercing beep of a smoke detector.
“The first time we really noticed something was wrong was when her grandmother came to pick Emmalee up one day she beeped the horn, but Emmalee didn’t react,” said Emmalee’s mother, Kelley. “I had to point and show her that her grandmother was outside waiting for her. That’s when I said to myself, okay we need to get this checked out.”
There were some very subtle earlier signs that Emmalee’s hearing wasn’t working correctly, but no tests done ever seemed to be conclusive and lacked any real explanation. Emmalee’s grandmother, Darcy Carney, recalls back to when Emmalee was an infant, as to when she noticed the earliest signs, but it appeared to be nothing too out of the ordinary.
“When I would hold her as a young baby and make faces at her and talk baby-talk to her she would just look at me. She never responded, but the moment I started talking she would look at my mouth, right away,” said Darcy. “I didn’t pay much attention, at first, because then I would stop talking and she’d look at my face just like a normal baby would. The second anyone started talking again, and she was looking right back at their mouth.”
After bouncing around doctors’ offices from Caribou to Bangor with consistently inconclusive results, Kellie and Darcy would finally find out from, Jean L. Toth, MA,CCC-A, what was truly wrong, and what could be done to help.
Toth, who specializes in audiology technology, knew right away that something was wrong with Emmalee’s hearing. Audiology is the branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Employing various hearing tests, audiology aims to determine whether someone can hear within the normal range, and if not, which portions of hearing (high, middle, or low frequencies) are affected and to what degree.
According to Toth, there was no question Emmalee would need hearing aids. She was having trouble hearing even the loudest of noises, and despite all the rigorous testing Emmalee had already endured, it wasn’t until after her visit to Toth’s office when she truly began to see results.
“We were admittedly in denial, at first. No one wants to believe there’s ever anything wrong with their new baby. We also assumed if there was anything wrong the hospital would have caught it during her newborn screening,” said Darcy.
Unfortunately, Emmalee’s hearing-impairment was too rare and masked for even doctors to decide what was wrong.
“Toth told us the reason it was so difficult for anyone to truly understand what was going on was because Emmalee had been phenomenally reading lips for so long, she was actually able to comprehend, for the most part, what people were saying,” said Kelley. “It wasn’t until she was enrolled in Head Start and began working with Miss Tammy that Emmalee really began to make strides towards improvement.”
Tammy Cyr, or “Miss Tammy” as she is referred to by the children, has worked with hundreds of students over the years, but there is no doubt she has developed a special bond with Emmalee.
“The first thing I noticed when Emmalee joined us was that she was saying ‘huh?’ a lot. When I would talk to her I noticed her trying to read my lips and if she couldn’t she wasn’t able to understand,” said Miss Tammy.
When Kelley and Darcy were asked what they believe the Head Start program has done to help Emmalee throughout this process a resounding echo quickly permeated the room.
“Miss Tammy!” they both responded. “She’s been so amazing and helpful throughout this whole ordeal.”
Kelley went on to explain how after Emmalee’s “helper” fell ill, and the testing process was held up, the helper was there to keep Emmalee focused and cooperative. With her original helper indisposed she soon asked Miss Tammy to take on the role. “Everyone was in favor of this decision,” she added.
“She’s always been focused on Emma. I remember after just two weeks of being in Head Start we were all shocked at how much better Emma was able to talk,” said Darcy.
Kelley recalls the first round of testing they had with Miss Tammy in attendance, and how they were able to get everything done that same day.
“It was a process we’d been trying to get done for so long and all we had to do now was wait for the hearing aids,” said Kelley.
Kelley remembers back to the day the hearing aids finally arrived. It was a day they all felt a sense of relief and happiness that Emmalee would finally be able to hear.
“It’s a moment I’ll never forget,” said Kelley. “We wanted Miss Tammy to attend because she has been on this entire journey with us. We needed a few tests done with the hearing aids and she’s awesome at getting Emma to cooperate.”
Toth explained to Emmalee how to turn the hearing aids on and off, how to clean them, and made sure they knew everything they needed to know. Then, it was finally time for Emmalee to put them in.
“Emma caught on so fast,” said Kelley. “We had Emma close her eyes and we all spoke at once. Everyone said something different, but the look on her face was priceless.”
An entire new world of sounds and music were now available to Emmalee that she had never been able to experience before.
“I was surprised at what she had never been able to hear before,” said Kelley. “She loved every minute of it. Her first request was, “Mommy, turn on music.” The look on her face that day is something I’ll never forget.”
With the help of Miss Tammy and the rest of the ACAP Head Start team, who have been there to help Emmalee, she is now making tremendous improvements with her learning. Kelley and Darcy were both quick to reiterate their sentiments about Miss Tammy and the Head Start program.
“We really can’t thank her enough. I wish we could hire her full-time. She’s been so great helping to keep Emma cooperative, throughout the testing, and making sure all her needs are met,” said Kelley. “Toth, even told us she believes Miss Tammy is the reason Emmalee has done so well in school.”
Grandmother Darcy went on to explain exactly what it is she would like people to take from Emmalee’s story, and what we can all learn.
“One thing I would like people to realize is mistakes happen, and I know they give newborns tests in the hospital, and it could have just been an oversight or mix up, but I really don’t think she was given an infant-hearing test,” said Darcy. “I believe, had she gotten one then, we would have known a lot sooner and she would have had hearing aids sooner. I just want people to pay attention to their babies when they’re talking to them. All babies develop differently, but there are some things that should be done by a certain time. Even if you’re in denial you should make sure to have it checked out.”
